


Just more school problems

by UndeadFae



Series: Finding family [2]
Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Family Bonding, Fluff, Found Family, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending, adoption au, so soft it can warm my bitter cold heart after hours without sleep, this is soft ok, yes i'm fine what are you talking about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadFae/pseuds/UndeadFae
Summary: When they adopted a kid, Genda and Sakuma weren't ready for many things that came with it. School and mean kids were just one of them. They still manage.
Relationships: Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou
Series: Finding family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798843
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	Just more school problems

**Author's Note:**

> I just impulsively started writing this from beginning to end today please help me. don't judge my title skills i know they don't exist like my sleep schedule HA (no it's not 3am here)

Of all the things neither Genda nor Sakuma were prepared for once they adopted a child, school was just another one on the list.

Turns out, paperwork to get Reiichi into school was nearly as bad, time consuming and painful as the adoption papers. And they hadn’t even figured which school they would be enrolling him into. And that’s how the hunt for a good school started- along with the headaches. How far was it from home? Private or public? How good of a school was it? Could they actually enroll Reiichi in?

Genda could swear Sakuma was about to shed a tear once they finally settled on one.

At first, everything was going just great, albeit a bit of a bumpy ride- turns out, Reiichi was just as unused to all these changes and new things as they were. Adjusting to the new routine, whatever it was supposed to be, was far from easy, many rushed preparations and nearly missed meals over the first two weeks or so. At least Sakuma had ensured that Reiichi would be on the same educational level as his classmates. Genda was good with watching and cheering husband and son up.

Eventually, they adapted to it. When Sakuma had to get up earlier or had to get to work just late enough not to be able to take Reiichi to school, Genda would wake up the grumpy child, make breakfast and drive him to school- otherwise, Sakuma would drop him off on the way to work. Even though he had to be enrolled in after the school year had already started, Reiichi didn’t seem to have any problem adapting to both the new class and subjects- even if he wasn’t exactly the friendliest kid in school. Not like it was a problem, just who he was, and they didn’t force him to talk to other kids.

Everything was going great. Until one morning, Genda’s phone buzzed.

As soon as he saw the school’s number lighting up the screen, his heart skipped a beat, fumbling for a moment before managing to answer.

“H-hello?”

“Sir? Genda Koujirou?” He nodded, heart still pounding, when it finally hit him that she wouldn’t see his nod, holding back a curse.

“Yes, that’s me- is Reiichi alright? Did something happen?” What was only a few seconds of silence felt much longer.

“Well- we need someone to come pick up your son. He… he’s in trouble for hitting another child.” More silence followed on his side. He knew Reiichi wasn’t the most sociable of kids, but to go as far as picking a fight? Over what? Before he could even remember to answer the woman, his mind rushed a mile an hour with questions, constantly landing without fail on the same one- had they failed as parents? “Sir?” Her hesitant voice snapped him out of it. Right, Reiichi first, freaking out later.

“Y-yes- I’ll be there soon.” With that, he hanged up, already rushing out while he typed on instinct the number he knew by heart, barely grabbing his jacket, keys and wallet in the process. “Jirou? I need your help right now- can you leave work for a while?”

* * *

As soon as they reached the principal’s office, one of the teachers once again briefed them in with the situation at hand, letting them into the room. On one of the chairs in front of the desk sat a woman with her child, nursing the nasty bruise already formed on his face. On the opposing chair, Reiichi had been waiting on the other chair, the scowl on his lips more forced once he saw his parents walk in, quickly turning away from them.

The principal invited them to take a seat in an awkward attempt to break the silence. Genda moved to pick up their child, sitting him on his lap as soon as he was comfortable, Sakuma sitting on the chair next to him.

With all of them seated and the situation seemingly under control, the principal awkwardly shifted around some papers on his desk, adjusting his glasses to squint at them.

“Well, I don’t think we need to go over the reason for this meeting again.” Talk about ways to make this even more awkward than it already was. As soon as the principal turned to Reiichi for answers, he tried to hide into Genda’s jacket, like that would magically make everything go away. “Would you like to explain yourself?”

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t want to. Sakuma didn’t say anything, asking Genda to do it with a glance, still reaching out to try and reassure their kid, gently rubbing his back. Genda placed a hand on his head instead, trying to find his face in the fabric of his shirt.

“Did you really hit that kid?” Reiichi was still stubbornly quiet, refusing to meet their concerned eyes. Genda wasn’t giving up, still talking as patiently and gently as he could. “I’m not angry, alright? I just want to know what happened.”

A bit more coaxing and kind words, and Reiichi finally nodded, still not looking at them. The principal was ready interject, only stopped by Sakuma’s harsh glare.

“Why did you do that?” Sakuma tried his best to keep his voice as calm as possible, but what little progress they had done seemed to be gone almost instantly, the kid just sort of shrugging in answer. “Reiichi…” His voice was still quiet, unusually calm for his normal temper, yet Reiichi almost took it as a scolding, his tiny fists clenching.

“… He said you’re not my real dads. I told him to stop and he didn’t.” Genda could feel his breath hitching, his tiny shoulders barely shaking. His heart broke a little.

As much as wanted to do nothing more than hold him and reassure him that it wasn’t true, that they would always be his family and love him like he deserved, there was more he had to take care of now. And so he reluctantly pushed that thought to the back of his mind, an arm holding his kid closer and a hand reaching out to take his husband’s before he could lose his temper- anymore than he already had, anyways. At least he wasn’t yelling just yet. Damage control first.

To his relief, before either of them could chew into the kid for just daring to think of something like that, the mother was already taking care of it, apologizing profusely and lecturing her son –not denying his words like he truly couldn’t understand just how wrong it was- at the same time. Sakuma had somehow managed to hold himself back from snapping at the kid, but even with how proud Genda was at his husband’s newfound impulse control, the entire event was still leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Reiichi was still quiet and tense in his arms. He internally grimaced, preparing for what he could only hope would be a useful talk later.

In the end, both kids got suspended for a day. A signature later, and the family was on its way back home.

It was an uncomfortable drive, the child staring down at his feet the whole trip while the adults glanced at each other, every attempt at any sort of normal conversation quickly pushed away and forgotten. Eventually, they gave up on talking, at least until they got home.

It did not, in fact, last until they got home. Because Genda would be damned before he let some stupid kid that had no idea what he was talking about ruin their day and relationship like that. Sakuma glanced at him when he pulled up at the nearest grocery store, quirking an eyebrow upwards with a questioning look. The sudden stop snapped Reiichi out of whatever was going on through his head, tilting his head as he looked up, still quiet and shifting in his seat, not quite managing to stay still. Genda took a deep breath, hands gripping the steering wheel before forcing himself to let it go, putting a smile on for their sake.

“We’re out of some stuff- do you two want anything while we’re here?” They blinked. He kept his smile on.

A few minutes later, they were back in the car with ice cream and cookies, along with whatever Genda could find that would back up his improvised lie. At least he could get more creative than usual with dinner for once.

While still quiet, the rest of the drive no longer felt so filled with tension and awkwardness. Reiichi was focused on his small pack of cookies, glancing out of the window between bites, swaying his legs in his seat. Sakuma tried to keep up his serious and stern parent act, like Genda hadn’t noticed how as soon as the cookies were open Reiichi had insisted on giving him one before rushing to his other dad.

Maybe they could really get this mess sorted out without any more damage.

As soon as they got home, Sakuma got Reiichi to change out of his school uniform, Genda heading to the kitchen to put away the groceries. With all that done and taken care of, there was nothing delaying the inevitable talk anymore.

Reiichi was a smart kid. He knew it was coming, knew the little trip to the store and the cookies were just to ease the tension and cheer him up- and they worked… somewhat. It was all coming back now.

Eventually, he decided to tip toe out of his room, a penguin clutched tightly in his arms as he walked up to the couch and sat there, patiently waiting for them. Despite the draining day, the sight was enough to wash some of the worry away. Decided to get this over with once and for all, they joined him on the couch. Sakuma signaled at Genda to start with a nod and a smile. He trusted him to be better at picking the right words to start this.

“Hey, Reiichi.” The kid looked up from his penguin. “You do know we love you, right?” He didn’t hesitate to nod. “So you know that kid was lying, right?” This time, he took a moment before nodding, slower than before, fiddling with the stuffed animal with newfound interest.

“Reiichi…” Sakuma’s voice was surprisingly soft. “What he said was not true at all, he just wanted to get to you for whatever reason.”

“But he said it… I know you’re not the mom and dad I had before…” Even with how young he was, he was still very much aware of these things. He knew this wasn’t the family he was born into, he knew other kids didn’t have a family like his or the problems he had, doubt already creeping on his face and in his voice. He couldn’t understand, but it was still hurting him. Genda wouldn’t let it go on- their son didn’t deserve this.

“Do you think we love you and care about you? Do we try our best to make you happy?” The child’s eyes went wide, as if the mere implication that they weren’t doing any of that was outrageous in itself.

“Yes!”

“Then doesn’t that make us your dads?” For a moment, Reiichi was quiet thinking, struggling to find a hole in his logic. Finally, he decided to nod.

“You’re my papa and my dad.” He looked pretty satisfied with his conclusion, like everything made perfect sense once again. Genda didn’t even have time to reply- Sakuma was the first to move, scooping Reiichi up to give him the best hug he could manage, both of them quickly pulling him in as well.

“Yes, we are- no one can tell you otherwise, alright? We’ll always be your dads.”

For a while, they just sat there in a comfortable silence, just holding their son for as long as he wanted them to, reassuring and reminding him that they loved him no matter what. It was just a little gesture, but it was all he- they needed.

“Better now?” Reiichi nodded, his tiny smile back on his face. “Do you want the ice cream now?” Reiichi nodded again- and Sakuma followed with a shit-eating grin, planting a kiss on his cheek. Genda raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you have work to go back to now?” Sakuma very maturely stuck his tongue out in answer.

“I’ll just text the kids and tell them that I’m not feeling well- they’ll live for a day without a coach.” And he pointedly held son and husband closer to prove his point. Genda sighed- there was just no way to get him to change his mind now, he knew from experience. And so he resigned himself to having the two most important people in his life clinging to him for a long while. Knowing Reiichi- their son would be alright now, he didn’t mind.

Eventually, the afternoon of sweets and treats came to an end, before Reiichi had a chance to completely spoil his appetite or put himself in a diabetic coma- Genda wasn’t sure he wanted to know what would happen letting him loose in a candy store, really. Dinner went fairly smoothly, a few stains and spills of dubious origin aside- why did he think getting them both to help cook would be a good idea, it was beyond him. When Reiichi was struggling to stay awake, he silently asked to be picked up, something they quickly complied to.

What was usually a quick routine putting their son to bed they took turns to do was not so fast this time around. After tucking him in with his favorite penguin and lion, they simply sat on the edge of the bed with him, just waiting together until he eventually fell asleep- not without gently ruffling his hair and kissing him goodnight, whispered ‘I love you’s soft enough not to snap him out of his sleepy haze. When he finally fell asleep, the hint of a smile on his face didn’t go unnoticed.

As they carefully got up and left to close the door, Sakuma couldn’t keep himself from fondly smiling at his husband.

“You’re a good parent, you know?” Genda rolled his eyes, answering with a quick kiss.

“You too- you’re doing great with him… I couldn’t be happier to have married you.” That was all it took to tint his cheeks scarlet. Genda had to stifle a chuckle as they headed back to their own room- even after so many years, there were still things that could so easily fluster him, no matter how big or small they were. He didn’t mind, it was a sight he would never get tired of.

"Jirou?" Sakuma turned to look at him, a calm smile on his face. "I love you."

"I love you too."


End file.
